Book Club: April

Alison Weir is one of the most famous authors for writing about history and bringing it back to life for the modern day bookworm. She has written about so many historical figures from the Prince’s in the Tower to King Henry VIII, and more recently she has tackled on the challenge of writing about all of King Henry VIII’s wives, all six of them.

Katherine of Aragon: The True Queen, is based on the life of Queen Katherine, the Spanish princess who was the daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. She was betrothed to Prince Arthur (King Henry VIII’s older brother) at a very young age, then married him on November 14, 1501 at the Old St. Paul’s Cathedral. They were only married for five months when the sweating sickness swept through the country side and enveloped the both prince and princess. Katherine had survived, however, Arthur had passed away, leaving Katherine a widow. For months Katherine was left to her own devices in a strange and foreign land where she had her servants as friends. Her father and prince Arthur’s father, King Henry VII, were trying to figure out what to do with Princess Katherine, for King Henry VII was afraid to lose the 200,000 ducats that was her dowry. At one point, King Henry VII had proposed of marrying Katherine himself after his own wife had passed, but thankfully King Ferdinand did not want his daughter marrying him. Instead, King Henry VII had proposed the idea of Katherine marrying his youngest son, Henry ( the future king), but had realized that after her mother had died, her “value” was now down. After years of King Henry VII trying to keep his son and Katherine from marrying, the king passed away, leaving his youngest son to ascend the throne. When Henry was crowned King Henry VIII, he had said that he was going to marry Katherine himself, for love and security for the throne for she would bear him sons (only one son survived for 52 days). The couple did have one surviving child, the future Queen Mary (also known as Bloody Mary). After several other failed pregnancies, King Henry VIII’s eyes started to look the other way and found himself in the arms of a young lady of the court by the name of Anne Boleyn. The divorce trials that followed this torrid triangle affair was outstanding and nearly took the world by storm. For Katherine refused to divorce her husband, for she in her own words, “have been your true wife, in every way.” But King Henry VIII was adamant about divorcing Katherine and marrying Anne, for he wished to have sons succeed him on the throne.

This story follows the entire life of Queen Katherine, and with it being historically accurate and somewhat fictional in certain parts, it is one of the best stories of the 21st century. Queen Katherine has always been my favorite Queen, besides Nefertiti (she was known as a Pharaoh), and this novel does her justice. All of you will truly enjoy this magnificent story.

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Published by loninicole

Hello everyone! My name is Loni and I'm an activist for many causes. I believe in peace, love, equality and seeking for the truth. My passions are writing, the arts, cooking, animals, my family and friends, holistic therapies, and creating new projects.
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